The Runda Association Committee invites all Runda residents to demonstrations on Thursday, 9th October 2025 at 11:00 AM at LR No. 7785/1303, located on Andrew Zargoritis Road in Runda.
This is not just another development story. It is a story of land grabbed from the public, originally set apart for community use, now being flipped into a USD 48 million luxury housing scheme. It is bad enough that the property was irregularly converted into private hands; worse still, the developers have gone ahead and brazenly moved to site without lawfully issued approvals, even as the title remains under investigation.
Even in related court proceedings concerning this property, the plaintiff was unable to demonstrate a lawful transfer from public land into private hands. While that case focused on change of use rather than ownership, the failure to establish a clean root of title underscores what residents have consistently argued: this project rests on defective foundations.
At a groundbreaking ceremony on 27th September 2025, the developer misled attendees by falsely claiming to have procured all approvals and on 29th September 2025, works were already underway on site, with machinery in operation, in a blatant show of impunity.
Two days later, on 1st October 2025, Nairobi City County Government issued a Stop Order, confirming that the construction that had already begun was unlawful.
The developer intends to put up 16 villas, each selling between USD 2 million and USD 3.6 million, with a likelihood of escalation should sales pick up, on this irregularly acquired property and in disregard of existing rules concerning building density and specifications.
The developer behind this unlawful project is Nanchong Cartier Villas Limited. As per an official search from the Business Registration Service, the directors and shareholders of Nanchong Cartier Villas Limited include Vijay Ranchhod Morarji Morjaria, Huang Yongping, and La-Terro Limited, the latter being the majority shareholder.
The directors and shareholders of La-Terro Limited are Vijay Ranchhod Morarji Morjaria, Hitesh Amritlal Morjaria, and Payal Mitesh Thakkar.
Residents are further outraged by the history of this parcel, which sits on a basin. You will recall that Runda made news last year during the rainy season due to heavy flooding. This flooding can be directly attributed to the backfilling of the dam on the illegal building site by the landowner, which obstructed natural drainage. The result was damage to adjacent homes, significant financial losses for residents, and a hit to property values.
The so-called remedies now proposed by the developer are wholly inadequate. The Association maintains that the only just outcome is for the land to be restored to its rightful public utility purpose.
Furthermore, we note with concern that no public participation was conducted for a project of this magnitude, in direct contravention of the requirements under the Environmental Management and Coordination Act, 1999 when procuring an Environmental Impact Assessment Licence.
This omission was deliberate and demonstrates that the developer never had any intention of following due process. Instead, it reveals a clear determination to proceed with impunity, as though above the law, while attempting to rob Kenyans blind in the process.
This is also a case of BUYER BEWARE. Unsuspecting investors risk losing billions by purchasing units on defective land.
We are calling on NEMA, the Water Resources Authority, and the Nairobi City County Government to revoke any licences/permits issued and to investigate fully the riparian nature of the subject property.
We further demand immediate investigations by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission into the conduct of the developer, who has already shown a willingness to mislead the public and subvert due process as well as into all other actors who have perpetrated this crime from its inception.
We also appeal to Governor Sakaja to act decisively in his mandate to protect the residents of Nairobi.
Please come out and join the rest. This will be a defining moment in the fight for OUR Estate against all sorts of threat.
Issued by:
Runda Association
Chris Getonga
Chairman
